This is the summer of 2026
It started near Saumos on 22 July. By the beginning of August, it was the largest fire France had seen since 1949. The episode was still being monitored when this account closed.
One ignition. A widening evacuation.
The fire started near Saumos on 22 July. By 25 July, FR-Alert messages were directing people out of Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Martignas-sur-Jalle and Saint-Jean-d’Illac as the threat moved toward the Bordeaux metropolitan edge.
The irregular fill is Copernicus’s 5,775.4-hectare extent from imagery acquired at 09:05 on 24 July. Points locate named communes only; they do not show evacuation zones or road closures.
Sources: Gironde prefecture, releases dated 22–25 July 2026 ↗ · Copernicus EMSR899 ↗
The fire made its own weather
Around 18:00 on 24 July, Gironde’s fire and rescue service described a pyrocumulonimbus forming above the blaze: a fire-driven thundercloud that produced violent, erratic wind and lightning capable of starting new outbreaks. The service described the event as unprecedented in France.
The storm detail is secondary-sourced from on-record SDIS statements. The irregular fire fill is Copernicus’s 24 July satellite-mapped extent, acquired before the reported 18:00 fire-weather event.
Sources: Sciences et Démocratie, 27 July 2026 ↗ · Copernicus EMSR899 ↗
A fire larger than Bordeaux — eight times over
As of 1 August, the reported total reached 42,000 hectares, with roughly 240 kilometres of fire line. That is more than 8.5 times the 4,936-hectare area of the commune of Bordeaux reported by INSEE.
Shown as one proportional circle scaled to total hectares burned, beside a proportional Bordeaux circle — not the actual, highly irregular coastal fire perimeter.
Sources: Gironde prefecture, 1 Aug 2026 ↗ · INSEE, Bordeaux commune ↗
What the fire left behind
As of 1 August, officials counted 252 buildings destroyed among 2,725 buildings in the fire zone, with the greatest concentration around Le Porge and along the Cap Ferret peninsula. More than 330 firefighters had been injured as of that briefing. No civilian deaths had been reported through 3 August.
How to read the map: the irregular fill is Copernicus’s 31,076.4-hectare extent from imagery acquired on 1 August; it is a dated satellite product, not the prefecture’s later 42,000-hectare reported total. Damage labels identify broader concentration areas, not individual properties.
Sources: Gironde prefecture, 1–3 Aug 2026 ↗ · Copernicus EMSR899 ↗
Then the wind turned east
On 22 July, the wind carried air southwest—away from Bordeaux. By the evening of 24 July, it had reversed. The flow turned east-northeast, then southeast on 25 July as the wind strengthened.
That shift pointed toward four communities east of Saumos: Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Martignas-sur-Jalle and Saint-Jean-d’Illac. Each was 19.5 to 22.6 kilometres away. All four received FR-Alert.
How to read the map: red shows the fire extent mapped by Copernicus on 24 July. Dashed lines show distance to the four alerted communities—not fire paths. Gold shows the 24–25 July downwind directions. The wind station was 26.2 km away, so this is orientation context, not a forecast.
Sources: Gironde prefecture, 22–25 Jul 2026 ↗ · Météo-France hourly observations ↗ · Copernicus EMSR899 ↗
Gironde had lived this warning before
In July 2022, the La Teste and Landiras fires burned 20,800 hectares, forced 36,750 evacuations and destroyed five campsites. By 1 August 2026, the burned area was twice as large and the evacuation count was more than five times higher.
The two smaller circles show the reported July 2022 fires near La Teste and Landiras. Every circle is a proportional reference, not a perimeter.
Sources: Gironde prefecture, 25 July 2022 ↗ · 1 Aug 2026 ↗
One spark met three systems already under strain
This is the bridge between ignition and consequence. At the 1 August briefing, the prefect described successive heatwaves and extreme drought. Those conditions primed the Landes de Gascogne, while fire-driven weather accelerated the event and homes, roads and campsites put people inside the forest corridor.
How to read the map: the subdued 1 August extent shows the consequence. The three markers locate the forest-fuel context, the Saumos fire-weather event and the inhabited metropolitan edge—the same three systems named above.
Recovery starts before the fire story ends
Nine Cap Ferret campsites reopened on 3 August. The same day, a forest-recovery meeting set three priorities. Insurers mobilized, and the claims deadline was extended to 31 August.
- Secure and restoremake damaged areas safe and begin ecological repair
- Assess and logmeasure losses and manage damaged timber
- Rebuildplan a more resilient forest and community recovery
How to read the map: the subdued 1 August Copernicus extent keeps recovery tied to the affected landscape. The two callouts summarize reported recovery areas; they do not locate individual campsites or define project boundaries.
Status at this snapshot: the fire had not been declared extinguished and remained under monitoring on 3 August 2026.
Source: Gironde prefecture, 3 Aug 2026 ↗
Watch the official signal. Remove the spark.
France’s daily Météo des forêts rates how weather and vegetation could favour ignition and spread: low, moderate, high, very high. In its 17 April 2026 prevention briefing, Gironde reported 1,125 trained DFCI volunteers, 1,325 patrols completed in 2025 and 22 detection cameras.
- Check today’s danger. Consult Météo des forêts and current Gironde restrictions before entering wooded areas.
- Remove the trigger. No cigarette ends, fires or barbecues near forest; avoid spark-producing work in risky periods.
- Report immediately. In France, call 18 or 112 when you see a fire starting and follow official instructions.
Why the map stops here: a dated incident map cannot show today’s danger or restrictions. The right panel therefore hands off to live official information instead of implying a current risk layer.
Sources: Météo-France ↗ · Gironde prefecture, 17 Apr 2026 ↗